IFAK first aid kit list

Updated June 15, 2019

By Tom Rader

Experts with over 180 years of combined medical experience present this first aid kit checklist for your EDC (Everyday Carry), IFAK (Individual First Aid Kit), and emergency go-bags. The best first aid kits are made, not bought in one package, so this is a prioritized list based on where and how you’ll carry your personal kit, explanations of why items were included (or not), and links to our favorite products and free lessons.

This guide is for self-reliant people who want to prepare for injuries that are more serious than daily scrapes and/or for situations where professional medical care might not be available — such as natural disasters, rural car accidents, SHTF, or getting lost and injured on an outdoor expedition.

Context matters! This is not a watered-down OSHA first aid kit you might keep in an office or classroom, for example, because an office typically isn’t preparing for the wide range of emergencies that you are. Vice versa, some of the contents typically found in a military first aid kit don’t apply to the threats you face, or the gear requires specific training.

Although a scrape that makes your five year old scream their head off in public might feel like an emergency, you’ll want a “boo boo kit” for that and not a serious trauma kit list like this one.

People who take preparedness seriously typically learn how to make a first aid kit rather than buy the cheap pre-made ones promoted on Amazon. Off-the-shelf kits are usually junky, built for different contexts like the military or backpacking, come with stuff you don’t need, and/or require you to toss out and upgrade so many of the included items that you’re better off starting from scratch.

Note: Doing this properly is not cheap. Expect to spend over $100 for a complete survival medical kit, less for an EDC first aid kit. But you can work your way through as budget allows — it’s better to buy one correct item at a time than to waste $40 on a junk kit.

We split emergency preparedness medical supplies into two buckets:

Portable kits you can carry with you, such as a pouch in your emergency go-bags or something you carry in your daily purse or work bag

Supplies you keep stored at home for a wider range of issues

This list is for the portable kits. It covers the range of EDC, IFAK, and Bug Out Bag medical kits because the prioritized list of contents is roughly the same for each — it just comes down to how much you can carry and thus how far down the list you can go.

You can stop however far down the list makes sense for your kit — if you’re building a small EDC first aid kit for your belt or purse, for example, get as far as you can within your space and weight limits.

You can intelligently customize or change things to suit your needs — you might need certain medications or know that you’re prone to blisters, so you can customize the list without wildly guessing what to trade away.

If you’re on a budget or starting from scratch, you’ll at least buy the most important stuff first.

See below the fold for more details and how to split this list into tiers based on your needs.

The Prepared teaches survival medicine: what to do in emergencies when you can’t depend on normal help or supplies. How to make decisions, steps to take, gear to use… there’s a huge difference in the right answers between daily life and a survival situation.

You agree not to hold us responsible if you choose to do something stupid anyway.

Why you can trust us

Although you should always be skeptical of medical advice on the internet, this guide was built with over 100 hours of research and debate by experts with over 180 years of combined experience working in and teaching various levels of medicine. Some of your guides:

Tom Rader. 18 years in emergency medicine. Former paramedic and Navy Corpsman (medic) with Marine Recon in Iraq. Teaches wilderness medicine nationwide to students including wildland firefighters, first responders, and remote tribes.

Dr. Charles Dryden, 25 years experience, American College of Emergency Physicians, Diplomate of the American Board of Emergency Medicine, review contributor for the Wilderness Medical Society, and consultant to Tier 1 military units.

Matt Cionek is a Captain at Los Alamos FD. 22 years of experience in fire service and as a rural, urban, and air ambulance paramedic, as well as a medical teacher. (AAS, NREMTP, FP-C, CCEMT-P, I/C)

Mike Ruane retired after 27 years in emergency medicine as a paramedic and nurse. His career spanned from the streets of east Oakland to teaching military special warfare medics.

Cabot Stone has worked in emergency medicine for more than 38 years across 6 continents, including 8 years in Africa. He's been a flight paramedic, combat medicine instructor, and firefighter.

Siri Khalsa is a 25-year paramedic with 6 years contracting overseas. He's been teaching wilderness first responders, active shooter first responders, and Air Force Pararescue for 14 years.

What these first aid kits look like in real life

Although you can stop at any point down the list, we split it up into three common levels:

Level 1: The smallest, typically used as an Everyday Carry or Individual First Aid Kit

Level 2: A “good enough” Bug Out Bag first aid kit

Level 3: The complete Bug Out Bag first aid kit that we recommend for serious preppers

Level 1 example: EDC boo boo kit (skips the serious stuff, focuses on light-to-moderate injuries), kept in an Altoids tin wrapped in a shemaghLevel 1 example: Minimal combat IFAK in a tear-away pouch, carried on a belt at the small of the back. The tourniquet is often stored outside of these pouches in combat/duty settings.Level 1 example: Full IFAK or EDC kit carried in a concealable ankle holsterLevel 2 example: A medium 9” x 3.5” x 2.5” MOLLE pouch attached to a 40L backpack. The tourniquet is rubber-banded to the outside.Level 3 example: Standard 8” x 6” x 4” MOLLE pouch attached to the same backpack for scale

Don’t be afraid to customize

It’s impossible to make a simple but universal checklist because of the huge range of scenarios, what terms like a personal first aid kit can mean, where and how it will be stored or carried, size, purpose, and individual medical needs and skills. Even local Good Samaritan laws can affect the decisions behind these items and where they rank.

We choose which items make it onto this list, and in what order, based on which products do the best job of helping typical people handle a mix of the most common yet most serious injuries in a survival scenario.

Sometimes you’ll see differences in meaning between labels like EDC first aid kits and IFAKs. In that example, even though both spiritually mean “a small portable kit you can carry on your body,” an Individual First Aid Kit is usually associated with the items military or police carry on their tactical gear for the most serious “someone’s about to die!” traumas, while an Everyday Carry kit is more associated with civilians carrying a mix of serious trauma and minor boo-boo convenience items in places like a purse or pocket.

While thinking through your medical preparedness, you want to be able to handle a wider range of issues than normal — from basic scrapes and pains to the most serious traumas — while still being portable.

That means accepting the trade offs necessary to build a well-rounded but portable trauma kit.

But this is your kit — you’re the one buying and carrying it — so it’s okay to customize as long as you understand the meaning behind those decisions and the sacrifices / tradeoffs.

Prescription medicines are an obvious way to customize. Follow your doctor’s advice! That includes understanding the priority of a prescription. Shampoo for dandruff is clearly not as important as a rescue inhaler, for example.

Note: If you or someone you love normally needs an EpiPen around, that would be the #1 overall most important item on this whole list.

Level 1: Core life-saving IFAK contents

Every kit should start with these items. But you might stop at Level 1, or even just part way through, if you’re building an ultra-portable Individual First Aid Kit for:

your battle/duty belt

something small you can grab and take with you while away from your shelter/BOB during a crisis, such as a scouting run to find food

an EDC first aid kit you can throw in your daily-life bag, purse, car, locker, etc.

an EDC kit you wear in an ankle holster or some other concealed body pouch

When you’re extremely limited in what you can carry, experts focus on the most severe injuries involving blood or breath — sometimes taught as ABC: Airway, Breathing, and Circulation — with a few common OTC meds thrown in if space allows.

Starter first aid kit or IFAK checklist:

Tourniquet

Pressure dressing

Z-fold gauze, standard 4.5” x 4 yards

Coban roll, standard 2” x 5 yards

Trauma shears

Acetaminophen / Tylenol

Ibuprofen / Advil

Diphenhydramine / Benadryl

Loperamide / Imodium

Band-aids (10x, various sizes)

Chest seals (1 pair)

Tourniquets are included because they’re purpose-built to control the kind of sudden, massive, spurting arterial bleeding that can kill a person within minutes. That’s why professionals often keep tourniquets strapped to the outside of their gear, holding one of the most prominent “I need to get this fast” spots.

For serious bleeding

CAT Gen 7 Tourniquet

For serious bleeding

TacMed OLAES Bandage

Pressure dressings are the all-around hemorrhage control sibling to the tourniquet. The best way to get bleeding under control is through well-aimed direct pressure. Tourniquets do that well on the limbs, but they can’t be used on the torso, head, neck, or other awkward injuries. A pressure dressing, on the other hand, can be used in almost any location, with advanced features built in to help you aim the pressure where it needs to go.

For moderate bleeding

NAR S-Rolled Gauze

Z-fold gauze (sometimes S-rolled) is normal gauze that’s packaged in a way that makes it much easier to use in urgent life-saving situations — namely wound packing. Hemostatic z-fold gauze is even better because it has blood-stop agents built in. Clotting agents aren’t critical (you can control the bleeding without it) and add to the cost, but they can shortcut your success by a few minutes.

Coban (also known as vet wrap) is a versatile tape that sticks to itself in a way similar to plastic kitchen wrap. It’s great for small bandaging tasks and securing splints. Plus it can be reused if handled carefully and not exposed to high heat, which melts the layers together. We like the These individually-wrapped 2” x 5-yard rolls are the right size.

Worthy upgrade:

Leatherman Raptor

Trauma shears are a big help when things like clothing or seatbelts are blocking your access to an injury because it’s important to get close to the skin. You may have a knife on you, but shears are clearly safer (and don’t look nearly as evil to bystanders). Shears are further down the list than some may expect for the same reason as gloves: They’re not super critical, and you often have alternatives nearby.

Acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil), diphenhydramine (Benadryl), and loperamide (Imodium). Although not critical for saving lives, these core over-the-counter meds are easy to throw in a small kit and helpful in a wide range of situations. It’s possible to find single-dose packets, like what you’d buy at a truck stop, or you can assemble your own baggies/container.

When comparing common pain relievers — namely acetaminophen, aspirin, and ibuprofen — acetaminophen (Tylenol) is the single best universal choice because it’s the safer of the three drugs. Ibuprofen can cause problems in people with clotting disorders, high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney problems, or who are elderly. Aspirin should not be given to children, and it does reduce the body’s ability to clot, much like ibuprofen. Acetaminophen is generally fine for pregnant women and is the only thing kids under six months can take for fevers.

We throw in ibuprofen at this level as well, though, because it reduces inflammation better than acetaminophen. An anti-inflammatory could be helpful for something like a sprained ankle.

There’s also evidence that when acetaminophen and ibuprofen are combined (especially with caffeine, included further down the list), the ‘ensemble effect’ creates pain relief similar to a stronger opioid. So this mix covers your daily, moderate, and potentially severe needs.

Benadryl is an antihistamine, helpful for treating allergies, hay fever, cold symptoms, and even insomnia. Everyone should carry some, regardless of whether you have an allergy that’s severe enough to justify an EpiPen. If you do need an EpiPen, keep in mind that the shot only treats the symptoms for 15-20 minutes, which buys time for the Benadryl to treat the underlying causes.

Imodium treats the effects of diarrhea. Emergencies can really screw up your digestive system through stress, difficult environments, and food your body isn’t used to (eg. freeze-dried survival food). That can easily lead to diarrhea, which, besides being an unhappy thing to deal with, leads to dehydration, fatigue, and other dangerous problems.

When we’re in a combat zone, for example, we’re often giving out Imodium to some of our soldiers on a daily basis. Even just the relatively-routine stress of going out on a patrol can cause some of the toughest people on earth to be out of commission due to diarrhea.

Tip: Buy the pill or tablet form of medications. Capsules and gels are too fragile for prepping.

Band-aids are an all-in-one dressing and bandage combo. A larger medical kit will split out those different components, but for a small EDC/IFAK kit, band-aids do well enough. Carry at least 10 in different sizes.

Our Picks

Band-Aid Variety Pack

Besides the obvious use, you can also use Band-Aids to anchor down larger dressings and bandages.

HyFin Chest Seal

Chest seals help when a penetrating trauma (like a bullet or knife) affects the lung area. See the links below for details why, but if the chest is punctured, breathing can get very difficult or stop altogether. A chest seal does exactly what it says: it’s a thin sheet that you slap over a hole, like patching a leak in a boat hull. Thankfully, chest seals are pretty compact and easy to carry in an EDC kit.

You often see chest seals in the top 3-4 items of a military IFAK — which makes sense as a kit built for fighting — and we considered ranking them that highly on this list. But the likelihood of those kinds of injuries is low enough that we moved chest seals after the common medications.

Level 2: “Good enough” go-bag first aid kit

Level 2 is the 80-20 or “good enough” first aid kit for your Bug Out Bag, Get Home Bag, or car kit. If you have everything in Level 1 and Level 2, you won’t have the type of kit that would get an “impressive!” smile and nod from a medic, but you’ll be able to handle a wide range of emergencies.

MABIS Tweezers

Tweezers and an irrigation syringe are the two most basic items you need to properly clean wounds in the field, which greatly reduces the chances of infection and can speed up healing. The syringe is used to aim and force clean water into a wound to flush out contamination and debris. The tweezers are used to pick out whatever chunkier stuff the water can’t remove, such as a visible sliver of wood pushed into the meat.

The pressure from running tap water (or even just a pour from your water bottle) is usually enough to remove most debris. But we think it’s important not to rely on running tap water for this kit, and studies show you need water pressure to properly flush away debris. We’ve found that an 18 gauge nozzle (which comes with the product linked above) creates the best water stream.

White petroleum jelly (eg. Vaseline) is useful for everything from providing a non-stick layer between the skin and dressings to healing cracked skin or lips. Petroleum jelly also makes a great fire starter when combined with gauze or cotton balls. Pick up a small tub or tube — it’ll go a long way, just make sure you use a clean finger or tool when taking out a chunk so that you don’t contaminate the whole container.

Medical tape. Duct tape and similar versions (eg. Gorilla tape) are not great for medical use because the adhesives act differently. We personally carry two forms of medical tape — silk and paper/plastic — because silk lasts longer but paper/plastic adhere better to wet skin. But, to keep things simple, you can just pick up one roll of silk tape and do your best to get skin dry beforehand.

Blister kit: Moleskin, plus a needle and thread stored in alcohol. There’s a reason movies about the military often have an experienced soldier preaching the importance of foot care. You might have no other choice than to be on your feet for a long time in an emergency, and blisters can essentially cripple you. So it’s important to prevent blisters and properly care for them when they pop up.

Many hikers preemptively put Moleskin over “hot spots” before a blister forms. And if a blister does form, Moleskin can be cut into a donut shape around the area to prevent any more friction damage.

Tip: Never put duct tape over a blister or hotspot, which will just make it worse by tearing at skin or the edges will ball up and create new friction points.

Blisters, which are medically a type of burn, should be left intact. Popping or deroofing a blister puts you at risk for infection, and, once it’s deroofed, you’ll have to spend more time and resources treating it like any other open wound.

Instead, field medics carry a needle with six inches of thread stored in a small container of isopropyl alcohol (which can also serve alcohol’s normal medical purpose). By threading the sterile needle and thread straight through a blister, leaving the thread behind and dangling out from both ends, you keep the roof intact while giving the fluid a wick to drain through.

Rolled gauze is often referred to via the popular brand name Kerlix. Pick up a 4.5-inch wide roll that’s at least 4 yards long.

This checklist has gauze in multiple places because different packaging styles and form factors are optimized for different levels of injuries. Where z-fold gauze is great for the most dire bleeding scenarios, rolled gauze makes it easy to bandage awkward areas (like around the head). It also acts as a backup for wound packing when you’re out of z-fold gauze, can be cut down into normal 4” x 4” squares, and can be used as the hard object (when still rolled) in a home-made pressure dressing.

Plastic wrap makes a great bandage because it’s cheap and transparent, so you can watch a wound over time without constantly lifting and redoing your work (which also wastes your limited resources). Although it clings to itself, it won’t adhere to a wound or skin and can be reused if handled with care. Plastic wrap also tends to keep the right amount of moisture in a wound, and you can hold something cold (like snow) on the outside to help soothe the injury.

Buy a standard kitchen roll and cut it down into a two-inch wide roll (you’ll cut other large pieces for your home medical supplies). It’s okay to squish the round roll into a flatter shape for your kit.

Our Pick

H&H Combat Cravat

Cravats (also known as triangular bandages) are a simple but flexible piece of cloth that’s been in use since the Napoleonic Wars. Cravats are very versatile and can be used as tie offs for splints, slings, swathes, improvised tourniquets, head and face coverings, or even water strainers.

Some of the many ways to use a cravat

Butterfly bandages are a thin strip of medical tape designed to hold wounds closed. Steri-strips are a common alternative, but they don’t always stick well. That’s why some pros carry steri-strips with a separate vial of benzoin, a fluid that makes the strips stickier. Butterflies technically don’t keep as tight of a wound edge as steri-strips, but the benzoin vials can be fragile, the butterflies can be repurposed more easily than strips, and we’d rather keep things simple. Pick up a box of 0.5″ x 2.75″ butterfly bandages to carry 16 in your kit (and throw the rest in your home kit).

Recon 36" Aluminum Splint

An aluminum splint, commonly referred to as a SAM Splint, is a versatile product that can be shaped into a rigid form for stability. They work well as a custom-formed splint for the elbow, wrist, finger, ankle, or toe. You can even use the splint as a makeshift C-spine stabilizer or headrest/pillow. Here’s the best 36” long splint. You can cut it down to smaller pieces — just be careful, as the cut aluminum edge will be sharp.

Level 3: Complete survival first aid kit

Complete Level 3 if you take medical preparedness seriously and want the same kit that experts put in their own family’s emergency bags. It doesn’t have everything the pros carry in a dedicated medical bag, however, because it’s still portable enough to just fit in a standard 8”x6”x4” MOLLE pouch — an appropriate size to tuck in a backpack.

Nasopharyngeal airway, 28 French (a unit of size used for these devices)

Aspirin / Bayer

Pepto-Bismol pills

Caffeine pills

Hydrocortisone cream

Miconazole

Cephalexin or Doxycycline

Emergency blankets are common among preppers and often kept in random places around the bug out bag. But we like to store them in the medical kit because you’re more likely to use them in this context — the body’s primary method for making heat is through movement, and injured/sick people tend not to move around. These lightweight, reflective blankets can insulate a patient from the ground or air while trapping the radiant body heat inside. Pick up two blankets at least 52” x 82”.

Our Pick

NAR Talon Gloves

Gloves are a cheap and compact no-brainer that more people should use in an emergency. “If it’s wet and not yours, don’t touch it.” But you may be surprised to see gloves this far down the list — gloves do more to protect the patient from you, not the other way around.

It’s very unlikely that you’ll pick up something contagious from getting another person’s fluids on your hands, even if you have an exposed cut. Mucous membranes, like around your eyes, nostrils, and mouth, are far more likely to be the point of entry for something bad. So glasses or a respirator will do more to protect you than gloves will.

However, contamination does matter when treating the more serious injuries on your patient, or if you’re touching around their mucous membranes. You wear gloves to keep the grime on your hands away from their risky spots.

We prefer nitrile material rather than latex or vinyl. Some people are allergic to latex (which might be your patient, not you), and both latex and vinyl have durability and quality issues compared to nitrile. Although gloves between 3mm and 8mm thickness are common, 5mm is the sweet spot between comfort and durability.

Tip: You can also fill gloves with water, then freeze them for a DIY ice pack.

Our Pick

Wilderness Medical Associates Field Guide

No one can remember everything, even the pros. That's why they carry this popular quick reference guide.

Reference guides are carried in the field even by the most seasoned professionals. The best choice is the Wilderness Medical Associates Field Guide because it’s well organized, has clear illustrations and info, and is specifically written for austere/wilderness situations.

Saline eye drops are included because — beyond the obvious comfort reasons — many types of emergencies involve pollutants in the air that hurt or lower your ability to survive because you can’t see. Smoke from a wildfire or pepper spray during riots are good examples.

Abdominal pads are essentially just large gauze pads, originally designed to cover the large sections skin around the torso. We include these 5-inch by 9-inch pads because, if there’s an injury that requires a lot of gauze, you can quickly run through your smaller supplies.

Our Pick

Rusch Nasopharyngeal Airway

Inserts through the nose to help keep the upper airway open. Comes with lube.

Nasopharyngeal airways (“NPAs”) are a simple rubber tube that help keep the upper airway (nose and throat) clear by creating a tunnel from the nostrils to the beginning of the lower airway. This can be helpful when the patient is (or is about to be) unconscious and there’s some signal that they’re not breathing normally — snoring is a decent analogy because it’s technically a corruption of the airway while unconcious. The tube is inserted through the nostrils, which can be a little awkward, so most NPAs come with a small lube packet. NPAs can also do double duty when combined with the irrigation syringe, acting as a sort of suction tube to remove mucus or blood.

Aspirin, Pepto-Bismol pills, and caffeine. Pepto Bismol is included to primarily fill the role of an antacid, although it clearly helps with other digestive issues like nausea and diarrhea. Pepto doesn’t stop symptoms are rapidly as Imodium, but it treats the underlying causes more effectively.

Caffeine can be helpful as a general stimulant if you’re beat down but have to recover quickly to survive whatever situation you’re facing. And, if you’re someone who needs their coffee to function, sudden caffeine withdrawal can cause unpleasant symptoms in an emergency. Having a dose or four on hand can help ease you down so you’re not exploding at your FEMA shelter neighbors.

Our Pick

No-Doz Caffeine Pills

Aspirin is good to have on hand when you have the space for more than just acetaminophen and ibuprofen because, even though it interferes with clotting more than ibuprofen, aspirin comes in a chewable form that the body can absorb rapidly. Try to carry the low-dose chewable forms of aspirin — formerly called baby aspirin, even though you’re not supposed to give it to babies.

Hydrocortisone cream treats several skin conditions, such as general itching from insect bites, poison oak/ivy, and eczema. You can skip this if you want, but it’s easy to throw in a cheap small tube.

Miconazole (Monistat) should be included if you or someone in your close group are a woman. The stress and lack of hygiene common in serious emergencies can lead to vaginal yeast infections. Monistat can also be used for other fungal infections such as ringworm, jock itch, and athlete’s foot.

Doxycycline and/or Bactrim are both generally well-tolerated, multispectral antibiotic medications. They are usually prescribed to treat infections to the upper respiratory system, ear, skin, and urinary tract. If all you have access to are other broad-spectrum and generally well-tolerated meds like Keflex, that’s okay, but they were considered second best because they’ve developed a bit of bug resistance in recent years. If you’re American and unable to easily buy antibiotics, try having a talk with your doctor about picking some up specifically for this kit.

Skip these common items

We see a lot of these kinds of lists that include gear that just doesn’t make sense. Often times it’s due to the difference in context, and sometimes it’s due to just plain lazy or uninformed writing.
Skip:

Decompression chest needle

Eye shield / cup

CPR masks

Suture kit

Diagnostics: blood pressure cuff, stethoscope, etc.

Knives and scalpels

Multivitamins

Iodine

Hydrogen peroxide

The most common product you see in other prepper medical lists that you should actually avoid is the “chest dart” or decompression needle. It’s often included in other lists/packages because of tacticool prepper fantasies or copy-pasting from the military.
Decomp needles are used for a specific condition called Tension Pneumothorax, which is basically a collapsed lung venting air into the chest cavity or air entering into the chest from an external hole that is trapped and can’t escape.

You may remember this scene with George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Ice Cube in Three Kings:

The movie makes it look easy. It isn’t. You need training (and additional equipment instead of Dr. Clooney’s magical ears) to know when to recognize this specific problem and how to do it without causing more damage.

One recent study found that, out of the 19 patients who had been given a chest dart by people with training, only four of them actually needed it, and only two of those were given the needle correctly.

Plus the patient will need professional follow-on care, like surgery in a hospital, which won’t be possible in some emergencies.

Common decomp needles are 14 gauge, which is already pretty large. But field data shows that the needle sometimes becomes plugged up with tissue and blood, requiring multiple stabs, which makes it even riskier if you don’t have training. Some kits are moving to larger 10 gauge needles to lessen this problem. Finally, a growing number of professionals are arguing for skipping the needle altogether, in every circumstance, in favor of a “finger decompression.”

The military is taking a stronger stance about including eye shields — essentially a rigid patch to protect an injured eye — because they’ve found it’s helpful for soldiers in the field. For example, wounding patterns in battle often include bullet “spall” that bounces off metallic gear riding in front of body armor and up into the eyes. But this is another example where what works for the military is not worth it for you.

CPR masks would’ve been on the list in the past, but modern guidelines are skipping mouth-to-mouth breathing altogether, making a mask moot. There are still a few wilderness medicine situations where rescue breathing is helpful — namely “correctable” situations like lightning strikes, drowning, asthma, etc. — but you’re most likely going to be with people you know, and thus aren’t as worried about random grossness. Besides, the mask is more about psychological comfort than an actual medical need anyway. If you want some, try the $2 CPR Face Shield Mask Keychain (five-pack).

Suture kits aren’t included because the chances you really need one aren’t worth the space and weight in a portable kit. People tend to overestimate the need for forced wound closure, especially in the immediate aftermath of an injury. But the kit does include butterfly bandages that can handle almost all of the situations you’ll face — without poking more holes in a patient.

Diagnostic equipment, such as a blood pressure cuff, isn’t included because they just aren’t necessary in this type of first aid kit and thus not worth the high cost of space and weight. The best data you can get from a patient is through their words, mental status, pulse, and respiratory rates — which you can gather without equipment (except perhaps a watch).

Knives, scalpels, and other specific cutting tools can be helpful in a pinch — and you’ll likely have a field knife or multi-tool with you anyway — but you want to avoid cross-contamination or accidentally cutting your patient. Even a sterile medical scalpel isn’t worth it because it’s extremely unlikely you’ll need to cut someone in the field.

Multivitaminsaren’t as helpful as you might expect. Specific vitamins like B-12 or D are worth storing in your home supplies, but they’re not worth it in a portable first aid kit because the few day’s worth of pills won’t really make a difference.

Where the experts disagree

Most disagreements come down to context. An ER surgeon, for example, has fundamentally different experiences than a ski patrol medic, which might cause them to disagree on the importance of a specific item.

After screening out those obvious differences in context, these were the biggest areas of debate:

About a third like to carry a thermometer. It’s helpful when dealing with elderly or very young patients — their bodies don’t naturally communicate temperature well — or people at risk of pre-existing conditions. But the consensus was that it’s an optional nice-to-have.

About half prefer ibuprofen over acetaminophen as The One analgesic (if you were to only carry one). Ibuprofen is better at reducing inflammation, which can be helpful with injuries like rolled ankles. In the end, we went with the more universally-safe choice (acetaminophen) since they both work equally well in most people.

Additional wound cleaning gear beyond the included tweezers and syringe — a Kelly forceps, tissue forcep, toothbrush (for scrubbing), and magnifying glass — were originally on the list, but removed after some tough prioritization. Some pros, particularly those with field/combat experience, carry these tools in their gear and find the extra weight worth it because cleaning wounds is one of the most likely things you’ll do in a moderate or severe emergency. But the tweezers and syringe alone will be good enough for most situations.

Some prefer a 60cc irrigation syringe, 3x larger than the 20cc in the list. The larger capacity requires fewer refills and does a better job when using the syringe as a suction device. The larger syringes are also more likely to come with an 18 gauge nozzle tip, which we recommend regardless of the syringe size. In the end, the 60cc size was too bulky for most kits except the largest Level 3 bags.

Whether wet wipes should be considered part of the medical kit or just general hygiene kept somewhere else. There’s clearly a benefit to cleaning your hands, tools, or the area around an injury. But you’ll likely have clean water around (or the ability to make it with a survival water filter) and can get by without a dedicated medical wipe. It’s fine if you want to add a few single-serve alcohol wipes, though.

Soap was another hygiene question. We keep concentrated camping soap in our go-bags, but don’t consider it part of the med kit.

One medic doesn’t carry chest seals, instead improvising them out of plastic wrap (even Ziploc bags) and medical tape when needed because of how rare those types of injuries are. Chest seals are mostly used for bullet and knife wounds to the chest — rare, but critical and part of what many people prep for, so we kept them high on the list for when you take a small kit out with you in dangerous situations.

Coban and leukotape are two products that are either highly ranked or dropped to the bottom, and we suspect it comes down to personal preference of what people were trained to use.

Tissue glue (eg. DermaBond) is a quick way to close up a wound. It’s more of a personal preference than a scientific must-have, but we didn’t include it because you can still close wounds in other ways.

Adding a second tourniquet and pressure dressing. The research is clear: There are times when a second tourniquet is needed to get things under control. But it’s rare enough that we felt the extra space, weight, and cost were optional.

Feminine hygiene products are clearly something you can stock in your go-bags, but we don’t consider them part of a first aid kit — although you can use the gauze if needed.

Whether antibiotic ointment (eg. Neosporin) is worth it. Many field medics tend to skip it, while “white-coats” tend to like it. But the research doesn’t support carrying it.

Were Hemostatic agents/gauzes purposefully left out? I saw only a cursory mention of it under Z-Pack Gauze and given the different brands and types it seems like an odd thing to not get into detail about on an otherwise very detailed list.

Sort of. We avoid most powdered agents — Celox A is the only one we like and is included in the home supplies list. We explain in the articles that hemostatic-impregnated gauze is a fine upgrade if you want to spend the money on it, but we don’t specifically recommend it for most people because 1) it only shaves a few minutes off the time needed to control a wound, 2) it’s worth having gauze without expensive hemo that you can use on non-bleeding needs, and 3) untrained civilians overestimate the value of impregnated gauze and get lazy about the basics (like well-aimed direct pressure). But it’s absolutely fine if you want to carry some hemo gauze!

Hi all! I’m almost done putting together all the gear for a level 3, but space in my MOLLE pouch is running out! What sort of witchcraft are you using to get all that in there? Any chance of getting a ‘how-to’ guide or video on packing this kit? Thanks for the article!

What pouch are you using? I originally thought the pictured one was a Condor model but after more searching I found the correct one. It’s very similar to the Condor or another model from Orca. I imagine the packing techniques should work for all of those models.

I have 6 of these completely assembled for my personal BOBs and GHBs. They are definitely tightly packed, but many of the items compress well. The medications are kept in a separate small Pelican box to protect them from crush damage (and that box is not in the Fox bag).

There are some knock-off bags that are a little smaller which might be more challenging to fit stuff.

Yes, that’s the one I figured you had. I have the Condor model which allegedly has the same dimensions save 0.5” depth – for a soft bag I can’t see mattering that much. Using the separate Pelican makes the packing situation clearer (though I’m hoping to cram everything in the pouch), but I’m still struggling to see how the relatively massive Recon aluminum splint fits in there.

You have to refold the splint for it to fit inside the Fox bag. As it ships it is too tall. I stow it in that sleeve in the rear side (nearest the back of the pouch) and fold it so that it takes up as much of the internal height as possible. It will be one width thicker than normal, and you do have to make sure it is tight and flat.

Another thing that can help with space is taking some of the other components out of the packaging like the cravats — especially the large one. And don’t be shy about folding and squishing things like the gauze pads. If the Coban has a rigid tube in the middle, slide it out.

It seems painfully obvious in retrospect, but I suppose I should have bought the flat instead of rolled splint. The article link picture is of the rolled one but the flat makes much more sense. I suppose I can just unroll and refold it, right?

Yes, you can totally unroll and fold it. In fact that might be a little easier starting with the rolled one since you don’t have to overcome existing folds that may be a couple of inches off. Fortunately aluminum splints are pretty easy to manipulate.

Depending on how I am loaded out, I will separate out the Level 1 items for quick and easy access. I like to carry those items in an ankle holster, and Level 2 and 3 in my pack when I am on foot. In my vehicle I have a single bag that holds all of the items.

For most people Ibuprofen or Naproxen (Aleve) are ideal for occasional/first aid use for aches and pains. I appreciate that you noted they aren’t good for people with established kidney or GI disease. You should also note that even a small overdose of Tylenol can cause irreparable liver damage. A significant number of people die from this every year. It should not be used at all by people who drink alcohol and never for a hangover. New to the site, enjoying your content, thank you!

I’m a little surprised that aspirin is so low on the list due to its use treating/preventing an impending heart attack. I know everyone has their differences of opinion, largely based on variations in training and experience, but aspirin is such a simple treatment and heart attacks can happen anywhere or anytime –even before a SHTF scenario–that I would always recommend having aspirin in any first aid kit of any level.

The “Level 1” items were very strongly debated, and aspirin simply didn’t make the cut for that level of the kit. It was ultimately a balance between utility and solvability of medical problems. Aspirin, while helpful during a heart attack, is not a solution to the problem, and is a weaker solution for other uses. The items in “Level 1” are direct solutions for one or more problems. That said, pills are light and it is up you to decide what goes in your kit and what priority you place on them.

FWIW, our team that argued and debated this included ER doctors and experienced medics from a variety of backgrounds. The consensus on the placement of items used a “would you rather have X or Y” approach which helped sort the items to their current places.

Nothing. The main advantage of those pads is that they are very thin, lightweight and completely moldable. On top of being self-adhesive – and requiring no bandaging – you can also cut them into tiny pieces to suit any kind of wound at any angle. A single pad the size of an standard weave pad can be cut several times to cover several wounds.

You can fold them and fit them almost anywhere. You don’t need to sacrifice anything to add them to your kit unless your kit is so full of stuff it’s ready to burst, but if I were forced to replace something, just for the shake of the argument, I would remove a few band-aids because you can cut the pad to perform the exact same function of a band-aid if necessary.

I speak from personal experience. My grandmother suffers from constant venous ulcers in her legs due to clotting problems and these little things are a lifesaver.

Before, we used to spend a lot of bandages, tape and pads just for a single wound and those would need daily replacement. Furthermore, the bandaging only exacerbated the poor blood flow problem, but one of those hydro-colloid pads can be cut to be used 4-5 times before you have to get a new one.

I’m considering leaving some form of this kit (maybe even Level 3) in each of our two vehicles… I live in S. Texas. Should any consideration be given to heat and storage in a car? Or, are there specific items that are more susceptible to heat than others? TY!!

I live in New Mexico and have Level 3 kits in each of our vehicles (and our off-road trailer). The risk from damage is just to the medications. You want to keep them as cool and dry as possible and I do this by keeping all of our kits out of direct sun.

Medications are kept in small pelican case. One of the reasons we recommend and favor tablet forms of the medications is because they typically survive temp better. That said, I do inspect and rotate the medications in the car twice a year, discarding anything that looks/smells suspect.

Also, it is helpful to put creams/unguents (petroleum jelly, hydrocortisone, etc) in separate ziplocks. That way if one does get too hot and leaks, it doesn’t get all over everything else.

I just wanted to ask about storing meds in your car and you’ve answered most of my queston. I especially dig the idea of keeping creams, etc in ziplocs. What about winter time, though? Any specific reccomendations?

I’d like to put my “vote” in for a packing post too. I bought the Condor pack (which I’m now 2nd guessing), and as supplies come in from Amazon, I’m beginning to see I’m going to have a problem packing. Additionally, I’d love to see how medications are dealt with… using “on the go” sizes, re-packaging, etc??? Thanks again for all the work you guys put in to this. Really is amazing!

So happy it’s helpful! And thanks for the vote, we’ll definitely do it soon given the interest. I just repacked my personal kits with the help of some of these experts, and it was tight getting it all together, but did work. My problem was babying the med supplies too much, where the pros seemed to rough handle it.

Meds are always preferred in solid pill form. As long as they stay dry, protected (eg. from crushing), and organized within the space you have, that’s good enough. But we prefer to re-package them into a small Pelican box (or some other small hard-sided organizer), as you can get the most pills in the smallest amount of protected space, while still being organized.

I totally figured out my packing problem… bought a bigger bag! 🙂 Hate admitting defeat, but it’s all in and tidy-ish. Sort of.

I still need to pack OTC meds. Taking my wife & threes young kiddos into account, the list has grown. Also grappling with quantities for each med. The travel tubes are too small (don’t hold enough) and the smallest “bottles” don’t pack well.

Are people re-packaging pills into small ziplocks (or something else) before putting into the hard case? And are you guys able to fit the case into the med bag or is it packed separately? Thanks again!!!

Glad you got the bag worked out. It’s okay to carry extra meds because of your family, but you can’t be the pack mule for everyone!

Yes, many people (incl most of us) repackage pills and other potentially leaky things (creams etc) into small ziplocks/containers which are then organized in a hard case. Try these https://theprepared.com/pic&#8230;

We store the pill case separate from the med bag, mostly due to space limitations on a full level 3 bag + optimizing for the kinds of “I need it right now!” stuff in the med bag + keeping dirt/blood/etc away from the meds when dealing with urgent trauma.

I made the same assumption you did, but used scissors to cut out each individual blister to within maybe 1/8″ of the blister itself. Removing the excess packaging material made them much smaller and easier to pack.

Blister packing is typically used to protect from environmental issues (like humidity) and to package a single dose. If it is packaged that way it is best to keep it that way. You should be able to trim it though, so long as you don’t break the seal.

I try to select medications that are in bottles as I normally buy in bulk, and then repackage into small baggies. In general, I also try to get medications that are in tablet form since they are less susceptible to damage. I further protect them by putting them in a hard case.

Finally got 2 level 3 kits completed! One for my vehicle and another for my On Hand For Unexpected Circumstances Kit bag. Found some plastic vials on amazon that are great for storing the needle and thread in alcohol. Side note – dyed thread will bleed color into the alcohol.

Cool operators wear black gloves? Really? If you’re working at night, blood does not show up on black gloves unless your lighting is excellent. Unless you are a tactical operator (which I understand some are – I have been) blue or white gloves are the way forward.

You have also made no mention of information that might be needed by medics when handing a casualty over. Again, I understand that some of the guys on here are paramedics but for those who are not, information such as the time the incident occurred, what was the mechanism of the injury etc is important.

Thanks for the comment. The black gloves thing was tongue in cheek 🙂 And you’re of course spot on about the importance of knowing what to communicate to professionals, but this article is just about the list of items, not as much what to do with them. That kind of advice is in posts like how to use a tourniquet https://theprepared.com/survival-skills/guides/tourniquet/

I may be newer to this site, but I am also extremely experienced in both tactical medicine and natural disaster recovery. I truly believe that every MED kit needs a minimum of a charcoal pencil and piece of paper. I have made over 15 of these kits for myself and family members. I won’t make them if the family member won’t buy the NARP Triage Card. They rarely seem to think it’s necessary.

As a paramedic, if I bring a patient to a triage area and tell them my opinion, they listen, even if I’m not in uniform. That happened during the 2013 Moore Tornado. Several other patients who were brought by non-professionals, however, seemed to be lower in the triage than they should have been. Preference being given to patients coming from providers. It was not intentional, but it happens. This phenomenon is discussed in several after action reports from natural disasters. I don’t think these are minor mistakes.

This phenomena may be avoided if you are partially treated with the high quality gear mentioned in these lists. It will be recognized by medical providers at an ER or field triage center.

I do believe a triage card is necessary. I recommend the one from NARP, but it is bulky. There may be slimmer options on the market today. I don’t recommend that a non-professional make a triage category decision, but when you get to the triage location, hand it off to a professional, show them your work and ask them to pick the category. This gives them a vast amount of info to make the decision correctly.

Tag or not, I personally think it’s how you communicate the info. If your report is bottom line up front and covers the necessities concisely, pros tend to listen.

Of course, the .gov supplied all of mine, but I also come from the days with things like “M” and “T” on the vics forehead…

Edited to add: “Combat Casualty Card $31.99” Actually laughing here. Yes I’ve worked triage in mass casualty situations. I’ve also trained and worked as a medical regulator – the person who has to decide where that patient is sent. I’ve directed evac on patients from Asia to Brooks Burn Center – the only stop – at an Air Force base to be transferred to a medical transport aircraft. To field hospitals – B Med. To Army and AF Hospitals. To Aircraft Carriers. OK, not so laughable. Looking further, at least Amazon gives some hope, since prices seem to be from $1-$3 each.

Yes, that’s the type of info we used. But when a patient hit our triage we immediately did an exam not only to verify the info, but to see if the Corpsman missed anything. Most of you here probably know from experience, when you’re out in the dark in rain and mud, it an’t easy.

This list is amazing. Makes things so much easier for people like me that don’t know where to start, or cannot untangle all the different tidbits you can find online. Mega kudos! Looking fwd to many more articles like this one!

I’m going to assume that the #1 thing I’d put on this list (duct tape) is missing because it’s considered not just a medical supply. That said, duct tape should be on this list: it’s sterile (enough) it holds on any of the other bandages, it can be used to make wound coverage of every size, and like all the best emergency tools, there’s a lot of other uses. Second, as long as you’ve got duct tape I’d add cyanoacrylate (Crazy) glue which can be used in place of sutures, can reinforce butterflies, and again has a whole bunch of non medical emergency uses. Further, I’d ditch the chest seals in favor of Saran Wrap. Saran Wrap plus duct tape on three sides will do what chest seals will at much lower price, plus again much wider alternative utility. Like keeping flies off of bandages… last, I’d swap the immodium placement with the pepto bismol. Immodium just stops, while pepto cures. Having had dysentery a number of times, trust me, pepto is what you want to start with, immodium only if that doesn’t stop it fast enough.

Thanks, missed the Saran Wrap/plastic wrap—btw brand does matter, I wouldn’t use store brand plastic wrap.) I’m still going to say duct tape should be high on the list. Maybe not ideal, but if I had just gauze pads, Saran Wrap and duct tape I could bandage almost anything.

Thanks so much for the kind words! As a layman I found it very helpful too.

Although it may change based on your personal needs and kit space, the general rule of thumb is 24 doses. Because many non-antibiotics recommend dosing for six days, and at four doses a day, that’s 24. Some people go lighter/smaller than that at 12 doses. Or they mix and match, eg. more doses of things they know they use more, and less doses of “nice to haves.”

Antibiotics are generally prescribed as a ten day course at twice per day.

Outstanding article! You guys break things down exactly like I have preached, though more succinctly! Also great explanations about how and why.

And to those complaining about lack of duct tape on the list, I don’t like duct tape on/near wounds. The sticky residue is difficult to remove for any dressing changes, also the stick residue makes using it in place of mole skin on the feet problematic. That being said, I think nice wide tape is a good idea — instead of duct tape consider 100 mph tape (military) or Gorilla Tape. Also kinesiology tape works great to prevent foot blisters, it sticks much better than mole skin which has a tendency to peel off.

Like all medications, it is important to use them when appropriate. There is some research out there showing that existing group A streptococcal soft tissue infections can be accelerated by non-selective NSAIDs (the ones you mention). But it is for a very specific class of infections.

There is also research demonstrating that NSAIDs have positive effects on treating sepsis.

In general, the benefits of using NSAIDs correctly (for the purposes they are intended) outweigh the risks. A person is far more likely to have a condition that can be assisted with NSAIDs than the converse.

One small suggestion… As I’ve been accumulating the recommended medications it occurred to me that off the top of my head I really have no idea what the dosing instructions, contraindications, and warnings are for the medications I’ve rarely used. Because of that, I cut off the backs of the boxes they came in (where all of that information is printed), and put them in the bottom of the pelican case under the baggies for quick reference. They take up next to no space, and now I don’t have to worry about using a medication improperly out of ignorance.

I curious to hear the answer from the experts myself. That said, my instinct is that although it might make sense in an EDC IFAK, I don’t think it makes sense in the context of a bug out bag IFAK. Just my two cents as another layman.

It is not on our list since we don’t recommend opioids as part of the list, and overdoses aren’t typically something you “stumble upon” in a survival/bugout context. You are more likely to encounter an overdose in a professional context (at a point when you can reverse it with Narcan).

That said, you can totally customize the contents to your needs. And if you have added opioids to personalize your bag for pain management, Narcan would be a good pairing.

By definition your IFAK is your Individual First Aid Kit. It is for you. If you get hurt, you or others should use it on you. Likewise, especially in the military, if someone else is hurt you use their kit to help them.

The biggest goal with an IFAK is to keep it as small and portable–thus more likely for you to actually have with you–as possible. If you start adding assorted “nice to have”/boo-boo treatment type stuff it quickly becomes to big and then it gets left behind.

Is there a clear advantage to carrying the medications (acetaminophen, ibuprofen, etc) in liquid vs pill vs chewable form? I’d think liquid is easier to administer to weakened partners, but weighs more and take more space. Perhaps one form has a longer shelf life? Anything else for the average person to consider?

Here are my suggestions (I’m a physician and I’m certified in Advanced Wilderness Life Support):

-Oral Dissolving Tablet (ODT)/Sublingual formulation: awesome but is the most difficult to obtain and not all medications are offered in this formulation. Offers rapid administration and are usually stored in blister packs. I prefer ODT for medications that are important to give when the patient is nauseous/vomiting (traditional oral medications might not stay down long enough to get absorbed). For example, I keep my Ondansetron 8mg ODT (brand name Zofran) to rapidly (<5 minutes) reduce nausea. I absolutely love Zofran, as a doctor and as a patient, but it’s a prescription medication, so you’ll need to get creative.If you know someone with “angina” you might be familiar with their “nitro” pills; these are also ODT.

-“Chewable”: sort-of like ODT. I keep all of my Asprin (81mg) in chewable forms.

-Tablet and Capsules: good because they are 1.) robust (don’t lose their form/turn into powder easily), 2.) retrievable (you can spill them and re-acquire them without loss of efficacy), 3.) don’t require a measuring tool (liquids need a cup), 4.) easily accessible, and 5.) are stable and easy to administer in a variety of settings. A problem I encountered when storing my tablets/capsule meds: I buy bulk if I can so I end up having to store the pills in a new container to save space/weight. The pills often don’t fit perfectly in my new containers so I pack them with cotton. This not only protects the pills from abrasion but keeps my bag quiet.

-Liquid formulations: AVOID. These are difficult to measure without some kind of graduated container (which you might not have, or more likely has become dirty). Also, imagine if you tip over an open bottle…you can pick pills up, but you’re never going to separate your liquid Tylenol from the dirt.

Thank you for this article. It is awesome that you included the areas of debate!
I also believe that a thermometer should be included. Not for a tactical kit necessarily, but these kits are meant to be accessible for any type of emergency, not just bugging out in a SHTF scenario. These kits will be included in the GHB, in cars, and many people will probably use it for reference to put in their camping gear.

Also, in a bugout scenario, most people are extremely afraid to go to medical locations because they may be avoiding places where people are congregated, government intervention, driving back into a city, or a pandemic. I know this personally from being a medic in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. They need to know when it becomes necessary to go, and not put it off for too long.

IMO it is always better to build your own for a couple of reasons. First, you know you, so you can tailor the kit to your needs and situation.

Pre-made kits are generally put together to hit a price point, or to include some specific piece of gear that the builder has a relationship with. Most of the time you end up with some stuff you don’t need (or won’t ever use) so it is just taking up space, and also which factored into the cost.

I am working to put together a couple of the level 3 kits after researching other lists and forums. This list is extremely comprehensive and everyone who I show it to in the medical field is extremely impressed with how well the list is compiled. I have several items on order currently and went to pull the trigger on the Fox pouch however they are on backorder due to high demand. My question is after having the Lightning XIFAK pouch for a few weeks now do you believe this would still be a good bag for these kits?

The 5.11 Med Gear Set is HUGE. It was way larger than I had envisioned. I’ll get some pics and post here after I reload it (I filled it with the first aid stuff, then switched back to the Lightning X without taking pictures). One downside is that it only comes in black, and doesn’t match the gray of my AMP 72.

https://deployedmedicine.com/ is a fantastic free resource. This is the official site of the U.S. military’s TCCC (tactical combat casualty care) training. The Level 1 / All Service Member course is a good start for most rational preppers. Lots of pocket guides, curriculum, and videos, etc. All U.S. military service branches are transitioning to this curriculum, born out of the lessons learned in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.

With the pandemic I’ve been spending a lot of time on trails around my house and a recent encounter caused me to change my own PFAK. I am not suggesting any of the priorities here (weight and lifesaving value) are wrong. But recently I met a couple in the woods where the young lady had twisted her ankle and was in serious pain, not shocky but not looking great either, with her male partner having to help carry her off the trail. They were close to the trailhead when I met them and refused help. But based on this encounter, and realizing that even with high boots an ankle sprain could put me in a bad situation I’d want cold and compression to deal with, I’ve subbed a 4” ace bandage (I had a 2”) and added a cold pack to my kit. The cold pack adds space and weight, and I wouldn’t take anything out of my basic kit but there’s room in my day pack. Here’s my thinking: is a twisted ankle more likely than a GSW most days in the woods? I’m packing it, and if the only service it does it to chill a beer when it expires and I replace it with a new one, I’m good with that.

Worth noting that a good amount of items in the list are FSA eligible.

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